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Seniors Have Their Say At Lenox Graduation

By Patrick RonaniBerkshires Staff
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Lenox Memorial High School's class of 2010, consisting of 73 seniors, throw their caps into the air Sunday afternoon at Tanglewood.
LENOX, Mass. — Six words and a sendoff.

Upon receiving their diplomas at Tanglewood on Sunday afternoon, the 73 seniors in Lenox Memorial High School's class of 2010 each had their moment of individual expression.

In the the weeks leading up to commencement, every senior wrote six words to sum up their personalities or their experiences at Lenox, which were read aloud by faculty members at graduation.

The "six-word memoirs" ranged from the thoughtful to the down-right silly, but each symbolized the vast personalities filling the stage. One male student chose to focus on the future with "the best is yet to come," while a female student conveyed her innocence with "I still check under the bed."

One student went with "risk it to get the biscuit," while another not-so-innocent graduate cleverly crafted "this one time, I got really..."

During his valedictory speech, Cameron Zinchuk described the senior class as an eclectic group, one that "rejoices as much in our differences as we do in our similarities." He said it's fitting that Lenox's graduation coincides with the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

















"Just as an entire world comes together every four years to share in a defining experience, so has our class, for all of our diverse interests, activities and personalities during these last four years of high school," Zinchuk said. "Whether it's sports, art, music, dancing — even quidditch — anything you can think of, there is someone at Lenox that is either involved in it or thinking of starting it.

"I find it amazing that, for such a small school, Lenox can support so many different activities and organizations."

The seniors' talents were on display during the ceremony as several graduates sang with the school choir. Ryan Meczywor performed two selections on the acoustic guitar, singing "Upside Down" by Jack Johnson and "Wonderwall" by Oasis.

For a few moments, the commencement resembled a rock show; seniors danced on stage, blew bubbles, and one student even heckled "play 'Freebird.'"

Fun was hard to avoid for the class of 2010. Salutatorian Karla Reid said that even the most studious pupil — like herself — couldn't help but get caught up in the flighty nature of her peers. Self-described as the "contemptibly perfectionist, somewhat deplorable overachiever that I am," Reid still found many outlets for enjoyment.

"My literal education is no longer what means the most to me," she said. "Instead, it is the intangible aura of the [Lenox] community. I fear that this collective group of individuals will never come together in the same way again. I will miss the dynamic that we have here, our particular brand of Lenox joie de vivre and laughter."

Following the ceremony, the seniors formed a circle on the lawn just outside the Tanglewood shed, where they tossed their hats into the air. They posed for pictures with family and friends, celebrating the end of an era, and the beginning of another.

Applying the World Cup metaphor, Zinchuk summed up his time at Lenox Memorial High School:

"I realize that this has all been a warm-up. The game is just under way."
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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